TJ Underwood
Rear Admiral Thomas Jonathan Jackson "TJ" Underwood, Deputy Chief of Starfleet Tactical Command (born September 14, 2343, in Montagne Noire, Reydovan Prime), is a fictional character created by Joshua Underwood in the Star Trek universe. TJ is the son of Underwood's "future self", and has been portrayed by Jesse Bradford since 2003. This is somewhat of an oddity, seeing as Bradford is eight years older than Underwood himself. TJ was named for Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson; the general is Underwood's favorite out of "Lee's Lieutenants". There is also a vessel commanded by an Underwood-created character (Jonathan Ross) named after him. Early Life TJ was born in Montagne Noire, Reydovan Prime, the son of the Imperial Chancellor. His mother's identity is unknown, and it is believed that he was born out of wedlock. He lived in the citadel of the Chancellor, Whitesoul Spire, for most of his pre-adult life, and gained a keen eye for politics, as well as military service. But Reydovan Prime grew boring for his tastes; in 2361 he asked his father if he could apply for Starfleet Academy, and Underwood agreed. Starfleet Service TJ arrived on Earth on January 16, 2362. He was somewhat of a "reserved" student, keeping to himself and having few friends. He excelled in his studies, however, and graduated at the top of his class as a lieutenant junior grade in 2366. He served on the first starship Venture for several years, until he became first officer of the new Sovereign-class Shenandoah in 2373. (In a fateful twist of irony, shortly after his transfer to the Shenandoah, the Venture was destroyed during the Dominion War.) When the Shenandoah was turned over to Jeremiah Neill, formerly an Imperial officer who became deputy commander of the SFMC, TJ was promoted to Captain and given command of a Reydovan-built Sovereign variant, the U.S.S. Admiral Graf Spee. He commanded the Graf Spee during most of the second half of the Dominion War, and was involved in the pivotal final battle at Cardassia. When the war ended, Kiran Joshmaul abdicated from the Reydovan Emperor's throne and became Chief of Starfleet Operations. Joshmaul asked TJ to serve as his chief of staff, and he accepted. The Graf Spee became Joshmaul's flagship. The Loss of the Graf Spee While serving as chief of staff to Joshmaul, TJ commanded the Graf Spee in an operation orchestrated by the then-exiled Imperial government to rescue the Admiral and other prisoners from the clutches of the evil warlord Artimus Devaneaux. Receiving the message from Joshmaul in Castle Devaneaux, the Graf Spee entered Imperial space and managed to rescue Joshmaul and the other prisoners, alive and dead, from Artimus' capitivity. The Graf Spee escaped just as Artimus' flagship, the Hand of Artimus, moved to intercept. In February 2376, with his father the Chancellor now in Artimus' custody, Joshmaul ordered TJ to take him into Imperial space once again. After finding the Chancellor, the Graf Spee was ambushed and severely damaged by the Hand of Artimus. Managing to get most of the crew to safety as the Imperial flagship Absolution moved in to the aid of the Starfleet vessel, the Graf Spee was destroyed as her warp core went critical. In his statement, Admiral Joshmaul asked that TJ not be blamed for the loss of the Graf Spee, that responsibility for the incident was entirely on his shoulders. Both Joshmaul and TJ narrowly avoided court martial. Moving Up TJ did not play a part in the final battle to overthrow Artimus; he remained on Earth in an attempt to find a job that would allow him the potential to advance beyond his current rank and privileges. On April 4, 2376, that is exactly what he found. Frustrated by the apparent lack of attention from any of Joshmaul's fellow chiefs, TJ received a message that made his decision much easier. Admiral Daisuke Tokugawa, Joshmaul's most trusted colleague in Starfleet Command, was looking for a new deputy chief for his Tactical Command; the previous deputy, Rear Admiral Kera Donovan, had been missing for some time. TJ accepted Tokugawa's offer, and began to pack out his office. TJ was promoted to Rear Admiral two days later. Joshmaul encountered him as he was preparing to leave; to the older admiral's surprise, TJ was wearing an Admiral's uniform. Joshmaul implored TJ to stay, that he needed his expertise. TJ was apologetic, but blunt, saying, "I can't stay chained to you forever." Realizing that his mind would not be changed, Joshmaul relented. The last thing TJ asked for before leaving Joshmaul's office was a ship of his own; he pointed out that Joshmaul had been thinking of refitting and recommissioning the only surviving Sahara class vessel, the U.S.S. Reliant NCC-1864-A. He asked that once the engineers cleaned her up and brought her to shipshape, that he receive it as his command ship. Joshmaul agreed. TJ Underwood now lives in the apartment formerly occupied by James T. Kirk, facing San Francisco Bay. At 32, he beat Kirk's long-standing record for youngest to the rank of admiral (Kirk was 36 in 2269); however, it's highly unlikely anyone, short of an El-Aurian, will beat Joshmaul's record for oldest admiral (Joshmaul was 281 when he became an admiral in 2241). Category:RPG Category:Star Trek